China launches AlSat-3B for Algeria, further launches delayed ahead of key human spaceflight test

HELSINKI — China launched a satellite for Algeria late Friday, as signs mount that multiple missions have been delayed amid preparations for a key human spaceflight test.

A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:01 p.m. Eastern, Jan. 30 (0401 UTC, Jan. 31). Insulation tiles fell away from the hypergolic rocket as it climbed into a clear midday sky above the desert spaceport. 

The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success, revealing the payload to be the Algerian Remote Sensing Satellite-3B, also known as AlSat-3B. 

The launch follows the Jan. 14 launch of AlSat-3A. The pair are designed to provide very high resolution capabilities dedicated to observation and strengthen capabilities in geospatial intelligence, according Algerian press reports. Both satellites were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a major CASC subsidiary. The launch was also the first from Jiuquan since the failure of the new Ceres-2 solid rocket, the flight of which appears to have been terminated early into its flight. 

Long March 12 launch

The AlSat-3B mission also follows an expendable Long March 12 launch from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site Jan. 19. The launch sent the 19th batch of satellites for the national Guowang broadband megaconstellation into orbit. The satellites for the mission were produced by commercial satellite manufacturer GalaxySpace. These carried phased array antennas, millimeter-wave antennas, integrated electronics and energy systems, according to reports.

The Long March 2C and Long March 12 missions were China’s seventh and eighth orbital launch attempts of 2026. The country is likely targeting more than 100 launches in the calendar year for the first time, having achieved 92 attempts including two failures across 2025.

Delays and impending flight test

Further launches of the Long March 7A and Long March 8A from Hainan meanwhile appear to have been delayed, with airspace closure notices for launches of these vehicles having been rescinded over the past week. The apparent delays follow the failed launch of a Long March 3B due to a third stage anomaly. The upper stages for the other launches feature commonalities with Long March 3B’s hydrogen-liquid oxygen third stage. 

Another potential reason for the delays is activity at Wenchang spaceport in which CASC appears to be preparing for a test of the Long March 10 series, which is designed for human spaceflight to low Earth and the moon. 

Images shared on Chinese social media show a test article on the pad at Wenchang which could be used for either a low-altitude flight test or a flight abort test of the Mengzhou crew spacecraft at maximum dynamic pressure. The test is expected in early-to-mid February, though there is no official comment on the test.

The test is part of preparations for a first full flight of the Long March 10A—a single-stick variant of the tri-core full Long March 10—later in the year. This is likely to be combined with the Mengzhou spacecraft, with newly-released candidate mission logos suggesting a possible Tiangong-related mission profile. China is also preparing for a test flight of a reusable cargo variant, the Long March 10B, in the first half of the year.